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Storm Damage to Belize will close it as a destination for awhile, what port should cruise lines pivot to?

Bill Miller

By Bill Miller,
in Celebrity Cruises

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drakes2

drakes2

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2 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

Infrastructure damage from Hurricane Lisa will close Belize for awhile. Where should Celebrity substitute as an alternative? Grand Cayman? Key West? Bahamas?

I wonder if that will affect my end January cruise as Belize was a port stop?

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Jim_Iain "Live from...." Rare

Jim_Iain

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We were on a cruise that had to cancel Belize due to a issue a number of years ago.   We had Playa de Carmen as a substitute and the our next port was Cozumel.    Celebrity will work on port availability.      I've had other ports cancelled and we got an extra day at sea.

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Jim_Iain "Live from...." Rare

Jim_Iain

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By watching this YouTube Video doesn't look there is much damage.  Not sure when your cruise is but clean up should be rather quickly.   Looks like some tin roofs blown off some trees blown over but to me doesn't look devastating.   One during the storm and one after

 

 

 

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drakes2

drakes2

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7 hours ago, Birdnutty said:

There's nothing listed on Celebrity's website either, as of yet, although that doesn't entirely surprise me.

My cruise is on princess January 28th. Really doesn't bother me if we don't make it to Belize. 

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Mark_K

Mark_K

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10 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

Infrastructure damage from Hurricane Lisa will close Belize for awhile. Where should Celebrity substitute as an alternative? Grand Cayman? Key West? Bahamas?

Are you just guessing or do you have actual information that the port will be closed for some time?  

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Bill Miller

Bill Miller

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Your right. This is an assumption on my part.

After seeing the Youtube videos of flooding, five foot or more in places, I feel a port visit would be unsafe and unsanitary.  Belize has a sanitary water treatment plant and they also have a lot of septic tanks. In sunny Florida bad weather can overwhelm our modern sewage treatment plants.  The result is sewage being released into flood waters.  And in this heat your going to have mold. Would you want to visit in the middle of this clean up? 

They are having great success with getting the electric back on. Unfortunately, many appliances like refrigerators and freezers that have electric motors may be damaged. 

As flood waters recede back into the Caribbean sea they carry derbies and possible fecal contamination. You'll need to let the waters clear up before you swim in it.

Here is a short list of scheduled cruise ships due. Friday, 11/4; Mein Schiff; Tuesday 11/8 Celebrity Infinity and Constellation; Wednesday 9/9 Serenade of the Seas, Carnival Vista; Thursday 9/10 Carnival Glory. Do you think Belize will be ready to host these ships so soon after the storm?

I'm scheduled to be on the Constellation for next Tuesdays Belize port stop. I'll let you know how it goes.   I expect they will change ports or have a sea day. 

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carolina_yankee "Live from...." Rare

carolina_yankee

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A Google search only turn up this thread as the source of the information. I can see cruises skipping Belize in the near time as cleanup continues. It all depends on infrastructure and staffing. I can see some sites being closed or understaffed as employees cover the damage in their own homes. The school apparently lost most of its roof so child care is an issue.

 

Belize Zoo sustained a lot of damage. I don’t think Celebrity has excursions there but most 3rd party booking sites do.

 

At any rate, it is an interesting question that no one seems to know the answer to for now. We are schedule for Belize on 11/ 15 and hadn’t booked anything. We planned a bit of walk in town to see the museum and the Cathedral if the weather was nice but that’s about it. 

 

Personally, I wouldn’t mind a sea day. I think Jamaica would be the only port alternative since Belize is between Costa Maya and Cozumel on our itinerary. 

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drakes2

drakes2

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25 minutes ago, carolina_yankee said:

A Google search only turn up this thread as the source of the information. I can see cruises skipping Belize in the near time as cleanup continues. It all depends on infrastructure and staffing. I can see some sites being closed or understaffed as employees cover the damage in their own homes. The school apparently lost most of its roof so child care is an issue.

 

Belize Zoo sustained a lot of damage. I don’t think Celebrity has excursions there but most 3rd party booking sites do.

 

At any rate, it is an interesting question that no one seems to know the answer to for now. We are schedule for Belize on 11/ 15 and hadn’t booked anything. We planned a bit of walk in town to see the museum and the Cathedral if the weather was nice but that’s about it. 

 

Personally, I wouldn’t mind a sea day. I think Jamaica would be the only port alternative since Belize is between Costa Maya and Cozumel on our itinerary. 

I'm on the Western itinerary in January and don't mind skipping Belize.

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Jim_Iain "Live from...." Rare

Jim_Iain

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On all the Port Schedule sights I've looked at they are showing Constellation and Infinity still scheduled for November 8.     They pulled Mein Schiff 1 from today's arrival.

 

Possibly Celebrity is still waiting to access the situation

 

Belize Power is hard at work and restoring power as fast as they can.

 

Power restoration began as soon as the “All Clear” was given on Thursday, November 3, 2022. As of 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 4, 2022, BEL restored power to 95% of affected customers in Cayo, approximately 70% of customers in Belize City, and the Philip Goldson International Airport in Ladyville. Today, BEL is aiming to restore 100% of customers in the Cayo District, up to 95% of customers in Belize City, and 80% of customers in Ladyville and rural areas of Belize District.

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prmssk "Live from...." Rare

prmssk

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We were supposed to visit Belize next Tuesday (11/8) on the Constellation.  Although it has not been consistently changed, I'm seeing a reference to an arrival in Costa Maya at 9:00 a.m. that day in the daily planner of the app.

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Jim_Iain "Live from...." Rare

Jim_Iain

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2 hours ago, prmssk said:

We were supposed to visit Belize next Tuesday (11/8) on the Constellation.  Although it has not been consistently changed, I'm seeing a reference to an arrival in Costa Maya at 9:00 a.m. that day in the daily planner of the app.

 

The app may not always be the best information.   On our Iceland Cruise they showed on Day 3 were were going to be in Bermuda.   hmmmm..

 

On all the cruises that I have had last minute changes I received both a text and an email showing both the original schedule and the revised next to each other, sometimes as close as the day before sailing --- and occasionally while we were at sea (then as a memo to the room from the Master).

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hrhdhd

hrhdhd

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Just now, Germancruiser said:

@Op- where did you get this information- we visited Belize Oct. 11 this year. during our cruise on board Infinity. We did not see much damage - but - well- we just walked a bit around.

Hurricane Lisa hit Belize on Nov. 2.

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cdn_tbird

cdn_tbird

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7 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

Unfortunate change, but a good move for health safety.

port change.png

I wish all the best for the people of Belize, and that they can recover fairly quickly. Missing a port, while disappointing is a "first world problem". 

Will have to keep an eye on things for our cruise that departs Nov. 12th. We're supposed to be in Belize on Nov. 15th. Wonder where they'll reroute us since Costa Maya & Cozumel are already on our itinerary.

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